Audience Response Systems in Higher Education: Applications and Cases

Taking advantage of user-friendly technology, audience response systems (ARS) facilitates greater interaction with participants engaged in a variety of group activities. Each participant has an input device that permits them to express a view in complete anonymity, and the composite view of the total group appears on a public screen. ARS can then be used to support summative and formative activities with groups ranging in size from as small as five through to large groups of several hundred. The data can be used to help the facilitator adjust the pace of teaching to match the requirements of the learners, gauge understanding, or trigger discussion and debate.